Threshing attachment for fodder-cutting machines.



No. 628,57l. Patented July n, 1899.

F. w. BEACH. TH RESHING ATTACHMENT FOR FODDER CUTTING MACHINES.

(Applicationfiled Oct. 7, 1898.\

2 Sheats--Sheei I.

(No Model.)

0., wAsHmaYou n c 1 N0. 628,57l. Patented .luly ll, I399. I F. W. BEACH.

THRESHING ATTACHMENT F-CR FUDDER CUTTING MACHINES.

(Application filed Oct. 7, 1898.: (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK TV. BEACH, OF BROOKSVALE, CONNECTICUT.

THRESHING ATTACHMENT FOR FODDER-CUTTING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Batent NO. 628,571, dated July 11, 1899.

Application filed October 7, 1898. Serial No. 692,873. (No model.) 7

To ail whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. BEACH, L a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooksvale, in the county of New Haven and A further purpose of the invention is to provide novel attachments by which the converted cylinder or head may be rendered efiicient for the purpose of threshing the grain fed to the machine, and such threshing attachments are designed to be secured reinovably to the cylinder or head, so that they may be used interchangeably with ordinary cutters or knives, whereby the Inachinemay be used for cutting fodder or for threshing grain by the simple interchange of the knives with the threshing-bars, or vice versa.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, the knives of a rotary head or cylinder, forming an element of a fodder-cutting machine, are fastened to the head reniovably in a spiral or inclined position to the cutter-head shaft, and to adapt my threshing attachments to a cutter-head of this style I provide aseries of threshing-bars, each having fasteningarms arranged to extend at diiferent angles from the threshing-bars for the purpose of applying and securing said barsto the spiders, so as to lie parallel to the cutter-head shaft. Each threshing-bar hasa convexed working face which extends the full length of said bar, and the alternate threshing-bars are provided with tapered and rounded teeth arranged to sweep through the grain for the purpose of separating and loosening the grain from the straw. I

The invention further consists in the novel combination of elements and in the construction and arrangement of parts, aswill be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand the invention, I have illustrated the same in the accom pan yin g drawings, forming a part of this speci fication, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view-of an ensilagecutter machine with my threshing-bars applied to the rotary cutter-head. Fig. 2'is a vertical longitudinal sectional View through the machine. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the head or cylinder removed from the machine. Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section through the cylinder shown by Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the toothed threshing= bar. Fig. 6 is a like View of a plain nontoothed bar.

Like numerals of reference denote like and corresponding parts in each of the several figures of the drawings,

In order that others skilled in the art may understand the invention, I have illustrated an ordinary fodder-cutting machine by Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, in which 10 designates the ordinary framework; 11, the feed trough or table; 12 13, the coacting feed-rolls; 14,'the inclined chute, and 15 the rotary shaft which carries the head or cylinder that ordinarily supports the inclined or spiral cutters. This rotary shaft is journaled in suitable bearings over the inclined chute and in advance of the feed mechanism, and at one end this shaft is provided with a balance-wheel 16, while its other end supports the powerpulley 17. As is well known to those skilled in the art, the rotary shaft 15 is provided with a pair of spiders 18 19, which are made fast to said shaft for the purpose of rotating therewith, and the spider 18 is formed with a series of arms 20,-wl1ich are disposed out of line with or in alternate relation to a series of arms 21 of the other spider 19. These disalined arms 20 21 of the pair of spiders 18 19 have the slotted lugs 22 23, on which are ordinarily secured the knives which occupy the spiral or inclined positions to the rotary shaft 15, and these knives are adjusted to the proper positions by the screws 24:, supported in suitable threaded openings on the spider-arms; To convert this rotaryhead or cylinder into a threshing-cylinder, the knives or blades are removed from the slotted lugs of the spiderarms, and in lieu of the knives the threshing-bars 25 26 are secured to said slotted lugs of the spiders. Each threshing- 27 extends from one face of the threshing bar, while the opposite arm 28 projects beyond theother side of said bar. The oppositely-extending'arms at the extremities of the threshing bar lie at different angularpositions to the longitudinal axis of the threshing-bar, and this disposition or arrangement of the two arms on each threshing-bar enables the latter to be applied to the lugs on the disalined spider-arms of the cutter-shaft, sothat the working faces of the threshingbars lie parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rotary shaft 15. In applying the threshing-bar to a pair of the disalined arms of the spiders the short arm 27 is fitted on the'top side of the slotted lug on one spider, while the long arm 28 is adjusted to'lie beneath the slotted lug on the'arm of the other spider, and the bars are secured firmly to the spiders by means of the bolts 29, which pass through suitable openings in the arms 27 28 and the slotted lugs of the spider-arms, so as to receive thenuts by which each threshing-bar is secured firmly to'the cylinder or head.

It will be understood that each threshingbar is provided, with the cross-sectionally convex working face and with the pair of arms 2728 arranged as described and adapted to be secured to the spider-arms of the rotary shaft in the manner specified for the working face of said threshing-bar to be parallel with therotary shaft 15. The bars 25 are provided with the working faces only, but the bars 26 have a series of teeth 29. fast or integral with the toothed bars 26 on the rear neutral faces thereof, but the teeth are projected or extend ed beyond one edge of each threshing-bar. The series of teeth are each tapered to the points 30, and each tooth is formed with a rounded face 31.

The bars 25 are secured to the spiders of the rotary shaft in alternate relation to the bars 26, which have the projecting threshing teeth 29 and thus the rotary head or cylinder is equipped with a threshing-bar having a toothed surface in addition to its convexed smooth working surface and followed by a nontoothed threshingbar with a convex smooth working face. The teeth of one threshing-bar 26 are in staggered relation to the teeth of the other toothed bar 26, and the teeth of one bar 26 are thus adapted to act on the grain in the intervals betweenthe paths described by the teeth on the other bar 26, whereby the toothed bars are adapted to pass through the grain to loosen the latter and separate the grain from the straw. The cutter cylinder or head, which is equipped with the threshing-bars, is adapted to rotate-close to the inclinedchute or spout 14, so as to subject the grain passing thereovcr to the action These teeth are of the threshing-bars and the teeth on the bars 26.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be understood that the ordinary knives or cutters are secured in inclined positions to the spiders of the shaft 15 when the machine is used for the purpose of cutting fodder or ensilage, and the stalks or fodder are fed along the table and by the feed-rolls to the cutter-cylinder. To adapt the machine for threshing grain, the inclined knives are removed from the rotary head, and in lieu of said knives the toothed and smooth threshing-bars are secured in alternate order to the arms on the rotary shaft. The grain is fed to the table or trough and moved by the feed-rolls to the rotary cylinder or head, and in the rotation of this head the couvexed working faces of the threshing-bars beat the straw and the teeth pass through the straw for the purpose of loosening the grain. and separating the latfor from the straw.

The interchange of the knives or blade for the threshing-bars, and vice versa, may be readily effected to convert the rotary cylinder from a cutter to a thresher, and in this connection it is important to observe that .my attachments do not require the positions of the spiders to be changed, because the threshing-bars are peculiarly constructed for application to the spidersand to make said threshing-bars occupy parallel positions to the shaft of the cutter or cylinder, thus promoting conveniencein the use'of the blades and threshing-bars interchangeably.

Changes may be made in the form of some of the parts, while their essential features are retained'and the spirit of the invention embodied. Hence I do not desire to be limited to the precise form of all the parts as shown, reserving the right to vary therefrom.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination with the rotary cylinder having opposite disalined arms, of straight threshin g-bars disposed parallel with the axis of the cylinder,and means for connecting the threshing-bars to corresponding opposite disalined arms.

2. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with the rotary cylinder having opposite disalined arms, of a plurality of threshing-bars, each threshing-bar having a continuous longitudinal working face rounded in cross-section, and terminal fasteningarms extended respectively from opposite sides thereof, said terminal fastening-arms having detachable engagement with the disalined arms of the cylinder, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machine of theclass described, the combination with the rotary cylinder, of a plurality of threshing-bars fitted to the cylinder, certain of said bars being provided with a working face, anda series of teeth extending in rear of such face, substantially as set forth.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the rotary cylinder, of a plurality of threshing-bars fitted to said cylinder, certain of said bars being provided with a working face, and a series of tapered teeth extending in rear of such face, said teeth being tapered to points and having rounded sides or faces, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the rotary cylinder having disalined spider-arms,of a plurality of straight threshing-arms lying parallel with the shaft of the cylinder, and each provided with attaching-arms extended from opposite sides thereof, and respectively of different length s, said attaching-arms being detachably connected with the disalined spider-arms, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with a shaft and the spiders having the arms thereof arranged out of line with each other and provided With the slotted lugs, of threshing-bars having the angular arms secured to opposite faces of the slotted lugs and the spider-arms, whereby the working faces of the threshing-bars are parallel to the rotary shaft, substantially as described.

7. In a machine of theclass described, the combination with the rotary cylinder, of a plurality of threshing-bars fitted to the cylinder and lying parallel with the shaft thereof, all of said bars being provided with continuous straight longitudinal workingfaces rounded in cross-section, and certain of the bars having extended from the rear or neutral sides of said faces a plurality of teeth, substantially as set forth.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination with the rotary cylinder, of a plurality of threshing-bars fitted to said cylinder and lying parallel with the shaft thereof, all of said bars being provided with conti nuous longitudinal cross-sectionally convex Working faces, and the alternate bars being further provided with a plurality of teeth extended from the rear or neutral sides of the working faces, the teeth on the separate toothed threshing-bars being disposed in staggered relation, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

' FREDERICK W. BEACH.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. SIGGERS, R0131. E. CRUMP. 

